Five arrests and 25 cars removed at Eartham Easter rave

Angry residents have complained that an illegal rave over the Easter weekend caused disruption and left an area of woodland in a mess.

Hundreds of revellers from across the country spent their weekend raving in ‘deepest forest’ near Eartham.

The mess left behind

Five people were arrested, three for drug possession and one for dangerous driving, while 25 vehicles were removed by police to prevent people from drink-driving.

Police attended the rave, on Forestry Commision land at Eartham Wood, off the A285 south of Upwaltham, after being informed at just after midnight on Saturday.

Officers set up road blocks to stop vehicles arriving, and warned those trying to enter by foot that an order had been requiring them to leave.

Police estimated that at its maximum, several hundred people were present, with two sound systems, but by Sunday afternoon ‘numbers were beginning to diminish’.

The scene after the rave

As well as the 25 abandoned vehicles being removed, police made five arrests, one for a failure to leave and one man who was wanted by another force for burglary.

Enquiries are under way to identify and trace those responsible for the event.

Chief Inspector Justin Burtenshaw said: “Due to the darkness, the lack of prior notice, and the nature of the heavily wooded land it was clearly not practical to prevent everyone from entering the area or to safely close the event down, but officers set up road blocks and an order was issued making the gathering unlawful.

“Unfortunately, we did not receive any information about the rave until it was well-established, making it that much more difficult to close down.”

Police asked anyone who suspects a rave starting to contact them straight away.

Eartham resident Michael O’Callaghan said the village was turned into a ‘large car park of noisy groups’ who were shouting at residents until 5am on Monday.

Tessa Barnes said she was ‘very upset’ with the rubbish left at the scene.

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